Christmas Cactus

My Christmas cacti, true to their name, are filling my home with splashes of purple. I love these plants; few flourish in my un-centrally heated home. Furthermore, they produce no nasty spines with which to chide the careless. Schlumbergera, their proper name, time their flowers wonderfully well. Hailing from the lofty mountains of Brazil, they tolerate darker, colder times. Indeed, continuous darkness for a dozen hours or more is required for them to flower. Long, bright days would produce an abundance of foliage, but little by way of bloomage.

Fret not if you find yourself going through dark times this year; it is after a season of darkness that you flower best.